Changing Federal Constitutions : Lessons from International Comparison / Arthur Benz, Felix Knüpling

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Benz, Arthur Prof. Dr., Editor.

Knüpling, Felix, Editor.

Series:

Technische Universitat Darmstadt ; institute of political science Changing Federal Constitutions

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics.

Political Science.

federalism.

constitutions.

Europe.

decentralization.

Local Subjects:

Politics.

Political Science.

federalism.

constitutions.

Europe.

decentralization.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (420 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Leverkusen Verlag Barbara Budrich 2012

Language Note:

English

Biography/History:

Prof. Dr. Arthur Benz, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Institute of Political Science; Felix Knüpling, Head, Programs and Partnerships, Forum of Federations

Summary:

This book analyses constitutional change in federal and decentralizing countries from a comparative perspective. The authors identify structures, processes and strategies which have proven to favour successful constitutional amendment. Thereby, the book enables public officials, scholars, and students to learn from the constitutional reform experiences of other federal democracies and from practical suggestions how future reforms could be designed. From the Contents: The Relevance of Constitutional Change Constitutional Reform in “Co-operative” Federalism Constitutional Reform in Federal Systems with Divided Societies Devolution and Regionalisation in Federalising States Processes of Ratification Evolution after a Constitutional Reform Conclusion

From a comparative perspective, this book analyzes constitutional change in federal and decentralizing countries. The Book identifies structures, processes, and strategies which have proven to favor successful constitutional amendment. International Specialized Book Services 3-2012 ... this book precisely informs policy makers, scholars, and students to learn from the con­stitutional reform experiences of various federal democracies, their weaknesses and strengths. Its practical suggestions as to how future constitutional reforms could be designed to make federalism successful are useful for policy makers and politicians. Reporter weekly 8/2012

Contents:

""Changing Federal Constitutions""; ""Content""; ""Preface""; ""Welcome Address of the Secretary General of the Bundesrat""; ""Introduction""; ""1. Federal constitutions""; ""2. Varieties of federalism and their constitutions""; ""3. Relevance and difficulty of constitutional change""; ""4. Cases covered in this volume and contributions""; ""5. Comparing incomparable cases?""; ""1. The Relevance of Constitutional Change""; ""Unity versus Diversity. Federalism as an Ever Evolving System""; ""Constitutional Change in Federal Countries: Comparative Considerations""

""5.1 Phase 1 (1994-1996): Preparing the “guidelines�""""5.2 Phase 2 (1997-2000): Fleshing out the “guidelines� and the final report of the project team""; ""5.3 Phase 3 (2000-2001): Preparing the legislative proposals and the message to Parliament""; ""6. Ratification""; ""6.1 Parliamentary decision""; ""6.2 The referendum""; ""6.2.1 The instruments of direct democracy in Switzerland""; ""6.2.2 The NFA referendum""; ""7. Evolution after the referendum""; ""8. Reasons for the successful implementation of the NFA""; ""References""; ""Why Federal Reform Succeeded in Switzerland""

""1. Introduction""""2. The reform process""; ""3. Evaluation""; ""3.1 High demands on coordination""; ""3.2 Opportunities for innovation and their limits""; ""3.3 Comprehensive and discursive decision-making""; ""3.4 The NFA: A balanced, win-win solution""; ""4. Key factors of success""; ""References""; ""The “Austrian Convention�: The Failure of an Ambitious Reform""; ""1. Introduction""; ""2. Institutions of the Austrian Convention""; ""2.1 Plenum""; ""2.2 Steering committee""; ""2.3 Committees""; ""2.4 Specific requirements for Convention discussions""

""2.4.1 The absence of designated political representatives and the formation of political camps""""2.4.2 The role of the experts""; ""2.4.3 Media coverage""; ""3. Results""; ""3.1 The report of the steering committee""; ""3.2 The scope of the consensus reached by the Convention""; ""3.2.1 Simplification and incorporation of the constitutional documents""; ""3.2.2 Maintaining the status quo in the main features of the state structure""; ""3.2.3 Legal protection""; ""4. The conflict over federalism in the Austrian Convention""

""4.1 Previous reform attempts and the paradigm shift of the Austrian Convention""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9783866495531

3866495536

Publisher Number:

9783866495531